Author: seanv2
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Review: Armstrong’s Its Not About The Bike
Its Not About The Bike Lance Armstrong Even here, in a book that is supposed to be the inspiring, heart-felt version of Armstrong, the story of overcoming every obstacle (the poverty, the cancer, the doubters); the story of the charitable work, and the small town kid made good, even here, you can tell he’s a…
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Review: Coyle’s Lance Armstrong’s War
Ed note: This review was originally written for a now long dead livejournal. Lance Armstrong’s War: One Man’s Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France Daniel Coyle This is without a doubt the best book written about Lance Armstrong before his fall…
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Review: Brecher’s Strike!
Ed Note: This review was orginally written for a now long defunct livejournal account. I’m reposting it here as part of a project to collect all my various writings in one place. Strike! Jeremy Brecher Strike! is one of those texts that is much better as a research aid than it is as something to…
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Review: Kant’s Ground Work for the Metaphysical
Ed Note: This was orginally posted to a now defunct livejournal in 2007. I’m moving it and over 100 other reviews over to this site. Kant: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) Immanuel Kant If you’re interested in Kantian ethics, and you’re going to read one like this.…
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Review: The Davinci Code
Ed Note: This review originally appears in a now defunct livejournal account in 2007. The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown challenges, to forget. Sometimes what you need after a hard week is Jack Reacher setting the world right and getting the girl. There is nothing to be embarrassed about in enjoying that. There may,…
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Review: Vaughan’s Pride of Baghdad
Pride of Baghdad Brian Vaughan Pride of Baghdad is a graphic novel about a group of lions set free by the US invasion of Iraq and their attempt to navigate the city during the invasion. It is a short little book (I almost feel guilty giving it a number in the notebook) but strangely moving.…
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Review: Burrough’s Barbarians at the Gate
One among many reviews originally published on livejournal in 2007 and now reposted here for posterity. Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco Brian Burrough I am a connoisseur of the business bestseller. I read ‘em all, and this one is among the best featuring conniving and scheming on a massive scale. Extremely…
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Review: Kostova’s The Historian
Ed note: This review was originally written in 2007 for a now long defunct livejournal account. The Historian Elizabeth Kostova A retelling of the Dracula story, this time by a pretentious writer looking to hit it big with a “literary thriller”. Generally, this is the kind of book I cannot resist. I love nothing more…
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Review: Friedman’s the Lexus and the Olive Tree
I really do not understand the appeal of Thomas Friedman. I don’t think his writing is very good, and I think his political commentary is inane. I cannot believe smart people take this man seriously. My synopsis of standard Friedman socio-economic analysis: I am a genius able to see developments in the world economic order…
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Review: Mill’s Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill How do you review a basic text of every undergraduate ethics course*? It seems silly. “Utilitarianism – pretty decent if you’re into canonical texts of the western philosophyical tradition” Look, if you want to be well read, you have to read this one, kids. You don’t have to like it, but…
Milo and the Calf 